The American adoptive parents of Max Shatto, an orphan from Russia, spoke to the press for the first time since being cleared of any wrong-doing in his death.

Max died last January at his new home in Gardendale, Texas after being left alone to play outside.

His death became fodder for Russian politicians who deemed him the twenty-first Russian-born child to die at the hands of adoptive American parents - thus cementing a recent ban on all U.S. adoptions in the country.

Breaking their silence: The adoptive parents of Max Shatto, an orphan from Russia, gave their first interview since being cleared of any wrong-doing in his January death

Eight months after Max's death, Mr and Mrs Shatto gave their first interview with the New York Times.

Mrs Shatto recalled the day she lost her newly-adopted son and the grief she's experienced since his passing.

Laura and Alan Shatto adopted two half-brothers, 3-year-old Max and 2-year-old Kris, from Russia last November, after multiple failed fertility treatments and three miscarriages.

The adoption process wasn't much easier. It cost them $31,000 to adopt one child, and an addition $12,000 for a sibling - not counting the travel for three required trips to Russia.

But after meeting the two boys on their first trip, they knew it would all be worth it.

Parents: Laura and Alan Shatto adopted Max and his younger half-brother Kris last November from an orphanage in Russia

Soon after they brought the two home, they started to notice that Max was hurting himself: picking at his skin, banging his head into the walls and hurling his body on the floor.

At first, Mr Shatto thought Max's self-abuse might be an adjustment issue that would pass - but it only got worse.

They pointed these problems out to Max's pediatrician who prescribed a medication usually given to autistic children, but they soon took him off it when he started acting 'like a zombie'.

When they brought up Max's 'adjustment issues' to the child's adoption caseworkers, they told him he was too young for medication or therapy.

'They told us we need to love him more,' Mrs Shatto said.

Signs of abuse: When coroners conducted an autopsy of the toddler they found signs of abuse - but have since ruled those bruises as self-inflicted

Playground accident: Coroners say Max died from internal bleeding most likely incurred from falling off the swing set

Seventy-nine days after they brought the two boys home, Mrs Shatto was watching them play outside when she had to use the bathroom,

She says she considered taking the boys inside, but figured that she would be quick and the area was fenced off anyway.

When she went back outside she found Max on the ground and unresponsive.

Blame: Mrs Shatto still wonders if she played a role in Max's death through the CPR process

She called 911 and they tried to walk her through the process of CPR. But once emergency responders arrived 22 minutes later, Max was pronounced dead.

Mrs Shatto continues to be haunted by that day, and even questions whether or not she played a role in her son's death.

'I kept wondering: ‘Did I hurt my baby? Did I hurt my baby?’

Max's autopsy highlighted some signs of possible abuse - some 30 bruises and other marks on his body.

And those signs of abuse led to outrage in Russia, which had just recently passed legislation outlawing U.S. adoptions of Russian orphans citing cases of abuse and neglect.

After Max's death, protest broke out across the country condemning the Shattos, and calling for the return of Kris.

But an investigation on the family in the U.S. has since determined that the wounds found on Max's body were self-inflicted and his death was caused by internal injuries most likely caused by a fall from the swing set.

The couple were warned about the health issues adopted children in Russia often have, but they instantly well in love with the two kids.

'I saw them, and I just started crying,' Ms. Shatto said. 'When you’ve been waiting to be a mother for so long, well, they could have had horns and we were still going after them.'